By Harish Gilai
Copyright thehindu
Fast food and biryani lovers need to be more cautious, as the recent raids by the Safety & Health Enforcement (SHE) teams formed by the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) unearthed the large-scale violations of food safety norms by roadside stalls, eateries, hotels and restaurants across the city.
Many outlets have been found using stale ingredients, expired frozen meat, unauthorised food products, apart from not maintaining hygiene in their kitchens.
Constituted in August, the SHE teams have been tasked with monitoring the mushrooming food joints across the city. So far, the teams have inspected 302 establishments, including small eateries and prominent restaurants. Between September 1 and 9, these teams carried out 112 inspections. The teams have found violations of food safety norms at 173 outlets, which means more than half of those checked are dafaulters.
The authorities have penalised the violators with ₹2.71 lakh, with fines starting from ₹10,000. Many eateries have been issued the first warning.
The officials noted that outlets were mushrooming but serving cheap and poor-quality food, particularly biryani and fast food. Even some well-known restaurants have also been pulled up for improper handling of food products.
GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg witnessed violations during surprise checks on a noted restaurant.
Currently, the GVMC has constituited 16 SHE teams, each comprising a Sanitation Supervisor, a Food Inspector, and Sachivalayam staff. Two teams have been assigned per zone. Every team has been directed to inspect at least three food joints on daily basis.
The GVMC Commissioner said that plans were afoot to double the number of SHE teams soon.
“Our aim is not to harass the businesses, but to ensure that they serve quality food to customers. In many cases, even hotel managements are unaware that the ingredients being used in their kitchens are not FSSAI-approved,” he said.
In July, the Food Safety Department booked cases against around 70 restaurants, bakeries, sweet shops, etc. for flouting norms.
